Sussex Royal hit 11m followers – and are now head to head with Kensington Royal 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hit 11 million followers on Instagram, catching up with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge just two days after they were still 100,000 fans behind the couple.

Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, who run Sussex Royal, have seen their following skyrocket since announcing their retreat from the public eye last week. 

The couple, who will be splitting their time between Canada and Windsor Castle after they stepped down as senior royals, have been on course to overtake Kensington Royal, run by Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38, for some time. 

This is despite the Cambridges’ account Kensington Royal being around for much longer, while the Sussexes only started their account last April. 

Prince Harry , 35, and Meghan Markle , 38, who run Sussex Royal, have seen their following skyrocket since announcing their retreat from the public eye last week and are now head to head with Kate and William 

While Kate and William have shared 1,982 posts, Harry and Meghan have only posted 185 times since last April. 

The Kensington Royal account gets an average of 300,000 likes for their posts, with statement posts including Kate Middleton’s birthday racking up 1.2 million likes.

Meanwhile Sussex Royal gets a similar average, but their recent post announcing they would be stepping down garnered almost 2 million likes from supportive fans. 

While William and Kate’s account follows just under 100 people, Harry and Meghan follow new accounts each month to highlight charitable causes.  

The couple, who will be splitting their time between Canada and Windsor Castle after they stepped down as senior royals, have been on course to overtake Kensington Royal, run by Prince William , 37, and Kate Middleton, 38, (seen on Monday at Buckingham Palace) for some time 

This is despite the Cambridges’ account Kensington Royal being around for much longer, while the Sussexes only started their account last April. They also stand at 11m 

On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is ‘taking a leap of faith’ in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but ‘there really was no other option’.

Harry gave an emotional speech, where he told the ‘truth’ about leaving royal duties behind in a bid for a ‘more peaceful life’ for his family.

The duke has attended his first public event since the announcement was released on Saturday that said from the spring, the duke and duchess will stop using HRH, spend the majority of their time living in Canada, and pay back the taxpayers’ money spent renovating their Frogmore home.

Harry was spotted arriving at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, where he held a number of private meetings, and was photographed shaking hands with the prime minister of Morocco Saad-Eddine El Othmani.

Doria, 63, who lives in LA, is thought to have spent part of the couple’s six week break in Vancouver over the Christmas period with the family, and reportedly described grandson Archie, eight months, (seen last September in South Africa) as ‘the cutest’

On Sunday night the Duke of Sussex has said he is ‘taking a leap of faith’ in stepping back from his life as a member of the royal family, but ‘there really was no other option’

In a speech at a private event for his charity Sentebale on Sunday night, Harry told invited guests: ‘What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.

‘Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

‘I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.

‘But I hope that helps you understand what it had to come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.’

Earning money while being a member of the royal family appears to have been the crux of the discussions Harry held with the Queen, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge about the future role of he and his wife.

The duke has attended his first public event since the announcement was released on Saturday that said from the spring, the duke and duchess will stop using HRH, spend the majority of their time living in Canada (seen in Vancouver)